1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system cable connections, and more particularly to a system and method for connecting an information handling system with a unified keyboard and point stick mouse cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems are typically built from a number of discrete processing components arranged in a housing, such as a CPU, RAM, hard disk drive, chipset, keyboard system and point stick mouse system. Generally these processing components are interfaced with conductors, such as buses formed in a printed circuit board. In some instances, cables extend between components or extend from a printed circuit board to a component, such as where the component lacks a socket to connect directly to the printed circuit board. An example of this for portable information handling systems is the connection of a keyboard through a flexible cable or flexible circuit to a motherboard for communication of user inputs to an embedded or keyboard controller. Typically a ZIF or other type of connector socket is built into the motherboard with conductive traces to connect to the embedded controller. A flexible cable extends from the keyboard membrane out to a ZIF connector with sufficient length so that the connector can be assembled into the socket with the keyboard distal the information handling system. Once the keyboard is electrically interfaced with the motherboard through the socket connection, then the keyboard itself is assembled to the information handling system housing, typically covering the processing components and motherboard. The flexible cable typically has conductive traces, such as silver or copper ink traces, embedded in a flexible membrane material.
One difficulty with building information handling systems is ensuring that all cable connections fit within the housing and connect with the correct components. This difficulty is particularly true with portable information handling systems since portable systems are generally built into relatively small housings. Extraneous or difficult to manage cable connections can significantly slow the process of building a system, thus increasing manufacture cost. As one example, some portable information handling systems incorporate a mouse point stick in the keyboard. Separate cables are typically used to connect the keyboard and the mouse pointer to the motherboard. For instance, the keyboard is built with a plastic membrane having conductive electrical traces to make a keyboard circuit matrix and having a tail that extends from the matrix to provide a connection of the matrix to the flexible cable. In contrast, the point stick is a separate assembly attached to the keyboard assembly and having an electrical connection separate from the keyboard membrane. The use of separate cables to connect the point stick and keyboard circuit matrix to the motherboard slows assembly of the information handling system by introducing plural assembly steps and by the awkward position of the multiple cables in the system housing.